Agreement could end strike... if Labour are re-elected

EVERY bin worker at Birmingham City Council affected by pay cuts and downgrades would pick up a £16,000 payout as part of a strike-ending deal proposed by the Labour leadership, it was claimed yesterday.

- 

Council Labour leader John Cotton called a press conference yesterday to make his announcement and media arrived expecting to learn the strike was over.

But instead, in a move that political rivals dismissed as 'an election stunt', he announced a deal was now "in sight" based on talks between Unite and Labour politicians.

The two sides claimed they had reached a ballpark deal that could bring the dispute to an end - as long as Labour were reelected to run the council on May 7.

The deal would have to be approved by council officers, commissioners and Unite members, as well as being approved by the incoming political administration, and be subject to legal sign-off.

Unite's national officer Onay Kasab fleshed out the proposal and said it would include a £16,000 payout to every affected bin worker, including bin lorry drivers who had been downgraded.